Rue the Date
by Mekakucity
Summary: It is apparently fairly easy for Beyond Birthday to start obsessing over someone. Though, stalking Naomi Misora is a bit harder than he thought it would be, and don't even get him started on how hard it is to abduct her. NaomixBeyond
1. Frozen Dairy

She was going to lose it. It took all she had to not bend over and tear the pony's head right off its body.

She knew that she couldn't tamper with the crime scene, and she knew that mutilating one of the many stuffed animals would likely be considered tampering.

She sat down on the victim's bed and ran her hands through her thick black hair. She could feel her engagement ring against her scalp. _Sickening._

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miso-whoa!" Ryuzaki entered the room at the exact moment that a small round object hit the wall across from Misora with a soft metallic cling. From the way her arms were positioned, it was more than obvious that she had thrown it.

She glared at him, or rather, she was just_ glaring._ She couldn't stop herself from feeling absolutely pissed off. She had already been dealing with a lot of stress from this case, but now her fiancé had to go and pull this stunt and…_Ridiculous_.

Ryuzaki dropped to the ground, picked up the object and began crawling towards Misora with it in his hand. "You dropped this." Now, Misora _was_ glaring at him, straight at him.

"I threw it," she corrected him, her tone hard almost as if she wished she could be anywhere in the world but there.

"Huhn? You did? Where'd you get it? Was it here? I didn't think that Backyard Bottomlash was married…"

"It's mine," she whispered, trying to stop her voice from shaking.

"Pretty," Ryuzaki purred, like a little girl. A little girl possessed by a soul sucking demon, that is.

Misora was half tempted to tell him he could have it if he thought that, but she caught herself. Why on earth would she give it to _him_? If she and Raye were actually done for, which she wasn't so sure of, then she'd hock it. For now though, she'd have to hold on to it and hope that Raye was just being a lying jerk. Wait even if Raye was lying, would she really want to stay with him? If he could tell her things that make her hurt this much for no reason whatsoever, then she couldn't possibly spend the rest of her life with him, could she?

Feeling uncharacteristically depressed and anxiety ridden, she cupped her hand open and brought it towards Ryuzaki's neck. Obediently, he dropped the ring into her grasp.

"You're married?" he asked, climbing off the ground and onto the bed next to Misora. Though, he was obviously inclined to put his feet on it and hug his knees against his body, so he did.

Misora didn't want to talk about her private life with him, in fact, she hardly wanted to talk to him about anything at all, but she couldn't help but answer him. "No, I'm engaged…or I was…"

"…Oh," Ryuzaki mumbled, "Well Misora, I've said it before, but if you present yourself correctly you are a very beautiful woman, so I'm certain that you could be engaged again before the end of the day if that's what you desire."

"No, Ryuzaki. That sounds horribly unnatural."

"Does it?" he replied, absentmindedly.

"What about you?" She didn't know why she asked the question. It was stupid curiosity, her emotions were getting the best of her and talking with an idiot like Ryuzaki was somehow helping to relieve her stress. "Have you ever been engaged or anything?"

"Ah, no. No, I haven't."

Of course. She hadn't expected anything else. In fact, had she received an answer other than that one her mind may have been figuratively blown.

"Well…Ryuzaki we should get to work…"

"Right, yes…let's get to work."

Silence filled the room as the two 'detectives' tried to figure out where to start looking. To Misora it seemed almost awkward, no, it was awkward, very.

"Did you already check the bathroom, Misora?" Ryuzaki's words startled her for a moment. She wasn't sure that she was fit to be L's eyes, hands, and shield anymore. She had always felt stable, strong even, but she now felt incredible weak. As weak as when she had failed at her job as an FBI agent and had been suspended.

She shouldn't care this much. She should just shake it off. L comes first, she couldn't let him down. She had to solve this case soon or someone else would die.

"O-Of course, you?"

"Misora, its no use if you can't think clearly. Please try to stop being so emotional." Cold. Misora wanted to punch him. Maybe that would help her. Maybe she would be able to stop being so emotional if she could release her trapped angry and use Ryuzaki as a punching bag. "That's it!"

"What!? Have you found something already!?" Misora asked, springing off of the bed.

"No, of course not, Misora. You're far too distracting for me to be able to make any deductions, but I think that I know how to get rid of your off-putting depression!"

She blew out a puff of air feeling incredibly annoyed. Her desire to punch him only grew stronger by the second. "What is it, Ryuzaki?"

"After we finish here today, I will take you to your favorite eating establishment. If you're good, that is." Wait, had she become a puppy? Did he think that he needed to dangle a treat in front of her face to get her to perform a trick?

"That would make me feel worse."

"Oh, so you aren't one of _those _women then…pity, I was looking forward to drowning your sorrows in ice cream…" Ryuzaki frowned at her, and for a moment she wondered if he was genuinely disappointed.

This feeling…could it actually be guilt? There was no way that she could feel guilty about rejecting Ryuzaki's offer, right? "You'd pay?"

He nodded, "Certainly, I'd do anything for a heart in disrepair." _Creepy._

"Then…I guess there's no harm in eating with you, but not ice cream. I don't like it."

"That's impossible."

* * *

Apparently Ryuzaki really did find the notion that someone could dislike ice cream impossible. And apparently, he had been lying when he said that he'd take her to her favorite restaurant.

Because, here she was with a waffle cone of mint chip in her hand and Ryuzaki sitting in the chair across from her, with a spoon dangling between his thumb and pointer finger. She felt her cheeks grow hot as she glanced around at the other customers. She couldn't imagine why she had ever agreed to this. How had she not realized that it would turn out this way? How had she not realized that he would be sitting in his regular position!?

"Misora," Ryuzaki whispered with a small smile on his face, "I knew you were lying."

"Huh?"

"You do like ice cream."

"I don't."

"You're eating it."

"I'm only eating it because you paid for it, if I had been the one to spend money on it I'd be begging for a refund," she mumbled, glaring at her cone.

"They don't offer refunds on ice cream," Ryuzaki stated, casually.

"Point taken."

She was tired, exhausted even, and she really just wanted to go home and take a long shower, but she was stuck. She was imprisoned by obligation and mint chip.

She did feel a bit better, though, but that was only because she and Ryuzaki nearly had the case cracked, to be cliché. It took a load off her mind to know that the only things left to do were to call L, get in touch with Blues-harp Babysplit and Blackberry Brown, and then catch the assailant. It would be hard, but at least they had a plan.

She methodically licked her cone, trying to disguise the feel of the unpleasant texture of the ice cream with the hard crunch of the waffle covering.

"So, Misora, do your sorrows feel drowned?"

"Uhm…Not really, but I was starting to forget about them…until you asked that."

"Sorry."

As if on cue her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and starred at the screen for a moment. It was Raye Penber. She stood up from her chair as she simultaneously answered the phone. She still had her ice cream cone in her hand, and as she searched for a place to set it down she realized that it was bound to melt no matter what she did with it. Personally, she wouldn't have cared too much if her ice cream turned into a puddle, but she was certain that Ryuzaki would get moody and disappointed again if she let that happen, so she took her phone and her ice cream outside with her.

"Raye," she said, flicking her tongue out and making a licking noise into the phone's microphone.

"Naomi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said early…I just feel like I never get to see you anymore. I mean, I don't have any idea where you are half the time, can you really blame me for worrying?"

"Worrying about someone and ending your engagement with them are two entirely different things; actually, I think they're opposites."

"I know, I know. I said I didn't mean it, didn't I? I just said it in the heat of the moment, you know that I love you, don't you?" he asked.

"No, Raye, I don't."

"Come on! I'm sure that you do! Listen, I'll make it up to you, okay? Are you doing anything right now? Let's go to dinner!" he paused for a moment, "Wait, are you eating something already?"

Misora stopped her tongue mid-lick, "Um…ice cream."

"Ice cream? I thought that you didn't li-"

"So your fiancé called you, I presume?" Ryuzaki asked, bowl of ice cream in one hand and his other hand reaching out towards Misora's shoulder.

Startled she jumped out of his grasp. "What are you doing?" she shouted, ticked off.

"It's rather boring to get together with someone and wind up eating alone, Misora," he replied, plainly.

"Are you on a date!?" Raye yelled into her ear.

"Nah-no!" she replied, glaring at Ryuzaki. "It's just that private detective I told you about, Ryuzaki. He made me come with him to get ice cream, nothing more, I swear." She paused and lowered the phone a bit. Why was she apologizing? She had only come with Ryuzaki because he was trying to cheer her up and get rid of the broken heart that _Raye _had given her. She had no reason to feel at fault!

"Then I guess you don't want dinner," Raye mumbled, still sounding very much annoyed.

"Raye, I haven't eaten anything but ice cream and coffee all day, of course I want dinner."

"Why don't you ask Ry-u-za-ki to go with you, then?" Petty! Was Raye seriously getting jealous!? She was half-tempted to snap a picture of Ryuzaki and text it to him, since that would certainly set his mind at ease.

"I already told you that we aren't on a date! I can hardly stand the guy!" She paused and opened her mouth wide, glancing over her back. She hadn't meant to say that! It was a slip of the tongue! Or rather, she hadn't meant for _him_ to hear that.

"Mis…" Ryuzaki whispered, "I'll get in touch with Blues-harp Babysplit, please do your part." He turned around, hands in his pocket and started to walk away. His posture was even worse than usual. Was that a sign of dejection?

"Crap!" she yelled into the phone. "Ryuzaki! I _can _stand you!" No use.

She could hear laughing, and she almost smiled. Oh, so maybe he wasn't depressed. Wait, no, it was Raye who was laughing. He was laughing at _her. _"It's not funny, Raye," she grunted, following Ryuzaki as her ice cream rolled down her fingers and onto the sidewalk.

"Yes it is…Anyway, so Naomi, should I come pick you up for dinner now?"

Oh, so now he believed her. It took insulting Ryuzaki to make Raye feel better. That's just the kind of guy he was. Sure, he was kind and did a lot for her, but to be so petty…so jealous, so ready to abandon their entire relationship at the drop of a hat…

"No, Raye. What Ryuzaki and I are doing is important and I can't have him hating me, so maybe later." She snapped her phone shut and started running. She could still see Ryuzaki, since he was walking _incredibly_ slowly, but he did have a bit of distance on her and was about to turn a corner.

Once she'd caught up to him she grabbed his shoulder the same way he had tried to grab hers earlier. "I'm really sorry. I only said that to get him to stop being jealous of you, okay? Please don't take it personally, Ryuzaki. Because…" She didn't know what to say. She was lying through her teeth. She really didn't like him, and was only apologizing because she felt bad about hurting his feelings, not because she hadn't meant what she'd said. "I really do like you, Ryuzaki. I…really appreciate that you tried to cheer me up, thank you."

Before she could comprehend it he was smiling at her with wide eyes. "…Is that right? Well in that case you're welcome, Misora." Well, he was fairly forgiving; at least he had that going for him.

She faked a smile back at him.

"I like you too, Misora."

She froze, and the smile that had only just appeared quickly vanished. "Um…thanks."

"Have you taken your fiancé back?"

"I'm not sure; I think that we need time. He's becoming a bit difficult, and I'm starting to feel like I have enough difficult things in my life as it is."

"You certainly do, Misora…Wait, if we're friends now then perhaps we should call each other by our first names, at least when we aren't working to solve the case, that is."

Misora wanted to crawl in a hole. "Sure R-Rue…"

"Naomi," he said, listening to the way the name sounded on his tongue.

All at once Misora became aware of the liquid mint chip dripping down her. "I should go home and take a shower," she told him, trying to get away.

"It appears so," he replied, glancing down at his own bowl of runny dairy.

"Well then, see you later, Rue," Misora said, wincing a bit as the words left her mouth.

"I think that it would be best if we met at the condominiums tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so."

"Okay, Naomi, then it's a date." He didn't seem to have any understanding of how terrible his choice of words was. She decided that it would be best to ignore it, so she simply nodded her head and walked away.

A date…This hadn't been one, right?

* * *

**So here's the first chapter! Yeah, I know that it kind of seems like a one-shot, but it isn't. **

**Thank you so much for reading this and please review! **

**Also sorry if anyone seems out of character, I know that Raye is, but I've always kind of seen him as bossy and not a good match for Naomi, so…**


	2. Spilt Milk

The world's greatest detective would never concern himself with such things. He simply didn't have the time or the will to devote himself to pointless endeavors. So why then, was the one destined to surpass him dabbling in the unnecessary?

Beyond Birthday viewed the affairs of the previous night as a detour. It was nothing more than an experiment, and perhaps it would help him in the long run. If he could gain her trust, then Naomi Misora would be even more unlikely to reach the truth before _the end_.

The ice cream excursion had served a purpose. Now that it was over, Beyond would simply continue on with his original plans. He'd be dead in two days, but that didn't particularly matter to him. His death would be far more important than his life.

Along with Beyond's charred, unrecognizable remains would be the unwritten notice that L had lost.

Beyond wished that he could stick around long enough to see the look of defeat on L's face, but if he stuck around then there would be no such look.

Even if he had felt a bit _strange _the night before, it wouldn't change anything. Not even if he had been _happy_, or something of the sort. Happiness was just another unwanted distraction sent to foil his plot. He couldn't have it.

What he wanted and what he needed no longer lined up. He _needed _to destroy L, but he _wanted_ to bathe in the intoxicating distractions around him.

Two more days…that left enough time to take another detour.

* * *

"Done," Misora whispered to herself, making a mental checklist.

Blackberry Brown had already went back inside her condo. It hadn't been too hard to convince the woman to stay at a hotel for a few nights. She was a rather greedy human being and the money on the table made it worth her while.

Misora slowly walked away from Blackberry Brown's condominium and into the elevator a few hallways away.

It was still early afternoon, and she was already left with nothing to do. It felt nice to have spare time for once. Though, it was now the twentieth and by tomorrow evening she would have to come back to Blackberry Brown's condo and spend the night. The thought was a bit odd to her. It made her nervous to think about spending hours upon hours waiting for someone to try to murder her. Not that she would ever chicken out or anything.

She stretched her arms up above her head and yawned as the elevator gently descended towards the main floor. Maybe she would spend the day doing nothing but watching television and eating fast food. Ah yes, the possibilities were endless…until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

She spun around, completely caught off guard. How had she not realized that there was someone else in the elevator?

"Oh! Ryuzaki," she mumbled, sighing a bit.

"Rue," he corrected her.

"Right…"

"Was Blackberry Brown agreeable?" he asked, leaning against the back wall of the elevator.

"Yes, she promised to be gone by nine tomorrow night," Misora replied, as the doors opened with a ding. She quickly walked out of the elevator, but Ryuzaki lingered for a moment and she half-expected the doors to close on him as he finally followed her.

"As did Blues-harp Babysplit."

"Then it looks like we're set." Misora's hotel wasn't too far away; actually it was within walking distance, so that's where she was headed. She didn't have a clue why Ryuzaki was still shadowing her, though.

"I should hope so," Ryuzaki whispered, hands in his pocket as he walked behind her.

Misora stopped walking, so suddenly that Ryuzaki hit her back and rebounded a bit. "Rue," Misora said, "Where are you staying right now?"

He seemed a bit reluctant to answer her. "At a hotel down the road."

"What road?"

He ignored her, "Where are you staying, Naomi?" She pointed at a thick, tall building up ahead of them. It didn't look too high-class, but Misora felt that it her stay there had been decent so far.

"You don't have to walk me there, I'll be fine on my own," Misora stated, being more than suggestive.

"I know that quite well, Naomi. I simply enjoy your company."

She felt anything but flattered. "That's nice," she muttered, bothered by the constant need to lie around him.

It was an uncomfortable stroll. What could have been a leisurely walk through town was turned into a big bowl of awkward by Ryuzaki's mere presence. Misora anxiously glanced behind her with each step, checking to see if he was still trailing behind her. With each glance came disappointment.

"So…" Misora tried to strike up a conversation, but couldn't come up with a single topic. She didn't want to know about him and she didn't want him knowing about her.

"Once the case is over…" Ryuzaki started and then trailed off. There wasn't a single sign that he was going to finish his sentence and Misora found that bothersome.

"What?" she snapped, trying to curb her irritation.

"Well…since I enjoy your company I've been wondering if I'll be able to have it even after we solve the case…"

That's the last thing Misora wanted to hear. Honestly, did he think that they were now life long friends? If so, he'd better think again.

"I can give you my email, and then you can contact me whenever you want." With four email addresses and only two that she actually ever checked, it wasn't much of a sacrifice for Misora to take out an empty gum wrapper and scribble down a nearly forgotten address. She tossed it towards him and he caught it, smiling at her all the while. She refused to feel guilty.

"Thank you," Ryuzaki whispered, starring down at the string of letters and numbers.

She nodded her head, "No problem. Then…if that's all you wanted to ask me, goodbye!" They had finally reached the large automatic doors of hotel, and Misora was determined to stop him from entering the lobby.

"Are you busy?"

"Extremely."

"Oh, what do you need to do?"

"I have to…" She knew that if she didn't think of an excuse soon that he'd be able to see through her lies, but her tongue was tied. "Clean."

"This hotel doesn't have any maids?"

"None."

"You couldn't afford a better hotel, Naomi? In that case, I would be glad to help you clean; I'm not a man with many hobbies." _Clearly. _

"I'm sure that I can handle it," Misora mumbled, biting her lip in thought. Her mind raced, but it was now in a maze and could not find the way out.

"Still…I really wouldn't mind. Allow me to lend a hand." He was being a bit pushy about cleaning.

"Okay…" If Misora's hotel really was a mess than she may have been a bit less reluctant to accept his offer, but as it stood she only agreed because she had been left with no other options.

Trapped inside yet another elevator with Ryuzaki, listening to the blandest of melodies, Misora frantically wondered how to wreck her hotel room. She hit the button that would take them to her floor, and the elevator slowly churned upwards. Halfway to floor number six, their destination, the doors flew open and a middle-aged woman pushed a cart full of laundry inside. Ryuzaki stepped closer to Misora to avoid being rammed into by the tired maid's cart of doom.

"Naomi…You had me under the impression that there were no maids here…"

"It's really more that the staff hates me and has refused to clean my room." Misora shook her head and tried to look pissed off by stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket and glaring at the innocent maid.

"That's awful."

"Isn't it?" The doors opened again, this time on the right floor. Misora stepped out and Ryuzaki quickly followed her. She stumbled around trying to remember where her room was, and then pulled a cardkey out of her pocket and walked inside. "It smells musty in here, so I'm going to open a few windows and let some air in, just wait out here until it's breathable." She stepped inside and slammed the door in his face, taking a deep breath as she looked at the perfectly spotless room.

She quickly pulled back curtains and threw open windows, and then unmade the bed. She grabbed a complementary notepad off an end table and began ripping up the papers and sprinkling them randomly about the bedroom and bathroom. She opened the fridge, took out a carton of milk, and spilt it on the counter. Once again she glanced about, and then feeling satisfied with the pointless mess she'd created, opened the door and let Ryuzaki in.

"I can't believe that they would do this to you, I recommend talking to the manager," he said, starring at the bits of paper on the floor and the pillows strewn across the bedroom.

"I don't have to stay here much longer, so I don't want to bother. He's probably a jerk anyway," she replied, bending over to pick up a piece of lint.

"Then why bother cleaning it?"

There was no right answer, because there was really no reason to do so. It was all so stupid that Misora began to despise herself for it. What a waste of her life…Couldn't she have just done a better job of ditching Ryuzaki? "It's grossing me out."

"Understandable," Ryuzaki replied, dropping to the ground and crawling around on the floor to pick up the scraps of paper. She really should have seen that coming.

Misora fled to the kitchen to wipe up the milk. She finished the job with a soggy towel and an unanswered question. Why had she wasted the milk and created a puddle if Ryuzaki was never even going to see the spillage?

After the kitchen had once again been returned to looking pristine, or as close as a hotel room gets, anyway, Ryuzaki finally came in.

"I made the bed," he told her.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"I can't find anything else to clean."

"Then you can go, no reason to spend your whole day doing my dirty work."

"I will then, if that's what you want…" He seemed more than reluctant, but also willing to comply.

Misora truly did want him to leave, but then something occurred to her. "But…I've been wondering Rue, how did you know that I'm trained in capoeira?" She had to ask it now since she wasn't sure when she'd get the next chance to, and she was rather curious, after all.

"I've looked you up on the internet before, Naomi. It isn't hard to access such information." No hesitation. It wasn't difficult to believe him. Though, she was mad that he felt the need to research her as if _she_ were the suspicious one in the room.

"Oh, in that case, I'll see you tomorrow night." With her question answered she was once again determined to get rid of him.

"See you then, Naomi," he left the kitchen and she heard the door to the hallway slam closed.

She leaned against the counter and checked the large clock on the wall. At least she still had enough time to run to McDonald's.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter isn't up to par with the last one, this will actually probably be the worst chapter in the fic, considering that I knew what purpose it needed to served but didn't know how to make it serve that purpose and still make sense. I hope that it turned out decent, at the very least.**

**Thank you all for bearing with me, and I loved the reviews from last chapter. Please send some more reviews my way; they make my day, to be entirely honest and sickly hokey. **

**Later! **


	3. Lying Portraits

As he stared down at the gum wrapper in his hand, Beyond Birthday sighed heavily. He still hadn't gotten the chance to use it…her email. His mind that had been so consumed by L for so many years couldn't stop thinking about Naomi Misora.

Every breath he'd taken had led him to this moment. It was his last chance, his best chance, to surpass L and to complete his mission. He had to take it.

He crawled out of Blues-harp Babysplit's bed, and stared at the hammer on the ground, the gallon of gasoline, a cigarette lighter, and the Wara Ningyo Doll. Everything he needed. He just had to pick them up.

"Just imagine when B trumps L…" he mumbled to himself as he selected the hammer and the doll. He quickly stabbed a nail into the Wara Ningyo and then approached the wall. Once this nail broke through the condo's layer of white paint, there would be no going back.

"_Because…I really do like you Ryuzaki. I….really appreciate that you tried to cheer me up, thank you." _

"No…no, just the hammer…" He tried to stop his thoughts, his memories of _her _from corroding his brain, but with her email address in the pocket of his jeans he couldn't shut her out.

He dropped it. Numbly, he starred down at the carpeted ground and realized how close he had been to crushing his foot with the hammer. He didn't care.

One more detour. That's all he wanted. But to take even one more would be to admit defeat, to give up. He _didn't_ want that.

He did want _her_, though.

Feeling flustered, confused, and angry, Beyond slung the canister of gasoline over his back and walked outside of the condo. He had to hide it. Quickly and without a trace. All of it, the Wara Ningyo, the cigarette lighter, the hammer, the nail, anything that could possibly point towards what he _should have_ done.

He threw it all in the dumpster behind the building. Not the most original hiding place, but if necessary he could always get them back out and hide them better when he had more time. For now, though, he had to get back to Blues-harp Babysplit's room and answer his buzzing cell phone.

"Rue," Naomi whispered, "Has anything happened?"

Beyond took a deep breath, as he once again sat down on the stranger's bed and pressed his phone against his ear. "No…are you alright too, Naomi?"

"Yes, but I've realized something…I can't figure out what it means, though…"

"Oh, what is it?"

"Well, about the locked room…" She explained it all. Her entire theory was laid out in front of him. "So, how do you think that he's planning to lock the fourth door?"

She was so close. She was there, actually. Beyond could feel his chest rise and fall faster. She _knew_. Almost. But the last piece was missing, and she had lost any chance of finding it.

Because she was his detour.

Because maybe he really was starting to gain her trust. If she trusted him then how could she possibly ever reach the correct conclusion? In the end, his frequent outings with her had paid off, but it was far too late to cash them in. They had saved his plan and destroyed it with one fatal swoop. Her trust in him was salvation; his trust in her was desolation.

"That's a brilliant theory, Naomi." He paused as he glanced around Blues-harp Babysplit's bland bedroom. "Perhaps…the killer intends to use a nail that is already in the wall."

"What do you mean?"

"Blues-harp Babysplit is not a poor man; rather his financial situation may be a bit about average, considering that he is able to afford to live in a condominium like this in West Los Angeles…"

"You're point being?"

"He has an expensive looking portrait on one of the walls in his bedroom, and that portrait is held up by a large nail."

"That's it!" Misora sounded so excited that Beyond was actually glad that he had lied to her. Glad that he had told her that the portrait was held up by a large nail, when it was actually held in place by several _small _nails. They weren't the type of nails that would be able to withstand the tension on the thread that was required to turn the lock. Not at all.

"What?" he asked, intrigued by how she so easily connected his fake pieces.

"I knew we were missing something, that there must have been some sort of clue that would enable us to rule out one of the condos…and that's it. Blackberry Brown has no nails in her walls, and had I realized how the killer was locking the doors sooner, then I wouldn't have stayed here for the day. Blues-harp Babysplit is the only possible victim, the killer gave us the clue, but we just couldn't see it until now."

"It seems that way, Naomi. But it makes no difference, we can still catch the killer, no…We still _will _catch the killer." Such confident lies spilled from his mouth. Everything she knew about him, everything he'd told her was nothing more than a front, a fabrication. Was he really still living because he wanted to keep lying to her?

"Of course we will. Rue, I'm going to come down to Blues-harp Babysplit's condo, since I'd rather back you up than lie in wait for nothing," she whispered.

"That isn't a good idea. It's very unlikely, but we can't afford to risk the killer seeing you enter the condo, he has to think I'm alone or he may not come in," Beyond told her. He wanted to see her, but he didn't feel like now was the right time. He was still reeling from the spontaneous postponing of his execution.

"That's true…but I feel useless…"

"It's alright, Naomi. I can handle it."

Misora fell silent for a moment, her quiet breaths blowing into her cell phone and reaching Beyond's eardrums. "Alright…Just be careful Rue."

"I will," he whispered, but she was already gone. Her phone shut and their connection broken. He didn't mind though.

She had told him to be careful. He was blowing it out of proportion. Careful does not equal care and care certainly doesn't equal love.

There was a three hour silence. Misora chewed her lip raw and Beyond feverishly dug a large nail out of a dumpster and used it to hang an already hung portrait.

There were three hours before Naomi Misora pulled out her phone for what felt like the hundredth time and anxiously called the murderer turned victim one more time.

"Has anything happened yet?"

"No, not yet."

"There's only eleven more hours…"

"Yes, but that's plenty of time to commit a murder."

Beyond was yet again misinterpreting everything. The worry in her voice could have just as easily been because she didn't want the criminal to get away, because she was worried that Ryuzaki wasn't _capable _of catching him_. _But still, he assumed that she feared for his life. And he knew that he'd made the right decision.

Ten hours passed, with only the occasional checkup from Misora. With a single hour left she couldn't resist dialing his number one last time. "What's going on!?" She sounded stressed out now and very confused.

"There's still an hour Naomi, now isn't the time to panic."

* * *

When the final hour passed, Misora was _beyond _panicked. Everything she knew had crumbled. L's words reverberated through mind with the force of a thousand bison. _"Please Naomi Misora. Whatever you do, please catch the killer."_ She hadn't. She had failed the best detective in the world's desperate plea for help. Another failure to add to a growing list.

She had been so confident before that returning to the FBI would be the right move, but now she knew that she couldn't. She just couldn't.

"It's not a complete loss," Ryuzaki told her, bringing little comfort with his halfhearted words. "There's a chance we were wrong and this wasn't the place, or wasn't the day…That does not mean that we won't catch him, though."

"Yes it does," she mumbled, staring at the painted woman clinging to Blues-harp Babysplit's walls. The thick nails hammered through the back of the frame, looking identical to the many Wara Ningyo dolls that had come before it. Everything had lined up so perfectly, the nail, the 404, the BB initials, the date. There was no logical explanation for why Ryuzaki's life hadn't been threatened. The world was hopeless.

Ryuzaki sat down on the bed next to her, knees up and toes curled. "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault," she replied, her eyes still lingering along the walls.

"Well, no, it isn't, but I truly am sorry that I was not able to catch the murderer."

Misora stood up, her feet hitting the ground with a thud that surely woke room 304. "I'm exhausted, I'm going home."

"I will contact you later. If we put our heads together, Naomi, then I am certain that we can at least uncover a suspect…"

"Please don't. If you are going to continue to pursue the killer leave me out of it." She felt bitter, like there was something sour pressed against her tongue. Everything felt wrong. Everything felt impossible. She was sick of dead ends and false beginnings.

"Naomi!" Ryuzaki called, as she slammed the door to the condominium closed behind her.

It was inevitable that she'd have to call L. The feeling of dread was strong and each footstep felt heavier than the last. It took far longer than it should have to reach her apartment.

She'd moved all her belongings out of the hotel and back here, expecting the case to be over and her far easier life to resume. Her head hit the pillow of her bed, and like she had so many nights ago, she fell asleep with her clothes on and her hair unwashed.

Had she stayed awake a minute longer she might have heard it, the gentle whispers telling of the heck coming her way. The footsteps that would only make the depressing circumstances tossed at her strike with even more force.

But no, she was already dreaming and the man behind her door was able to slip away unnoticed…And take knowledge far more dangerous than an unused email address home with him.

* * *

**So the fic has finally reaching the more serious tone that I originally planned for it to have. Not that I won't keep the humor as well. **

**I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Please drop a review in the box below! **


	4. Nail in One

The phone was very plain; it was a simple flip-phone, capable of only a few functions. Misora did not care too much for her phone, and it had more than a few notably sized scratches, but at least the screen was not cracked. The buttons on the keyboard were large and lit up a bright blue hue each time she flipped the top half of the phone up.

Misora knew that she would have to call L eventually, but for now she was content with staring at her phone. What color was it? Black sounded to general. Yes, until she could describe ever inch of her cell phone she wouldn't call L.

She sighed, falling back heavily onto a mound of clean pillows behind her. She allowed her phone to drop to the ground, no doubt sustaining another scratch or dent along the way.

After starring up at the ceiling, with as much attention to detail as she had paid to her phone, she finally crawled towards the edge of her bed, reached her arm out and snagged the little electronic device. She flipped it open, the bright blue buttons welcoming her as she did, and then she called L.

"Nice of you to finally call me, Misora," he said from the other line. With that synthesized voice of his she could hardly pick up on the sarcasm he was so plentifully pouring on.

"I'm sorry, L," she whispered, her voice trying not to shake.

"It is quite alright," he responded, "This case has _hardly_ been closed."

"What do you mean? We're out of clues, and out of time." Frankly, Misora was also out of resolve. L could tell her to rework the case all he wanted, but even if she tried it wouldn't be done with the same drive as before.

"There were no murders committed by the assailant last night, that is fact. It is also fact that there was no suspicious behavior sighted near Blues-harp Babysplit's and Blackberry Brown's condominiums. With this in mind, it seems that there was no way you could have made an arrest last night, so you are in no way at fault." Misora breathed a quick sigh of relief as L spoke. So at least it hadn't been her mistake, this time.

"Though," L whispered, "We can't rule out the possibility that you may have missed a clue…"

"But everything pointed to Blues-harp Babysplit being the next victim!" Misora protested. She then told L of the recent 'nail' discovery, to which he actually seemed rather impressed.

"The most logical conclusion is that the killer was tipped off somehow…" L speculated.

"Really? You think so?"

"If he had been that would certainly wrap everything up nicely…"

"It would explain why the killer didn't try to well…kill, anyone last night. If the killer knew that we were lying in wait for him, then he likely would have backed up and waited for another opening."

"If you put it like that then it appears that the killer may still have the intention to murder Blues-harp Babysplit." L paused and Misora waited for him to continue, but it seemed that he was going to leave her hanging for awhile. "I will bear the responsibility of securing proper protection for him."

"Good…but then how should I proceed with the case?" Half of Misora was secretly hoping he'd say that she shouldn't, but the other half would have pissed if he did say such a thing. She had come this far, so she might as well exhaust herself even further.

"I would like you to go to Blues-harp Babysplit's condominium sometime in the next few days, can you do that?" Oh. So now the great L was actually _asking_? He'd better be careful or _the great_ Misora would begin to feel too big for her britches.

She wondered what he'd do if she said no. "Ok, but why?"

"I need you to confirm that his condo was not altered in _any _way. Basically, you will need to interrogate Blues-harp Babysplit about the contents of his condo. Be thorough, Misora, this could prove to be far more important than it sounds."

"Altered? But Ryuzaki would have seen if anyone had entered the condo…" Misora tried not to sound too dubious of L, but she could hardly hide her annoyance at having to remind him of such things.

"Would he have?" Was that an actual question? Did he want an actual answer?

"Yes, I believe so."

"Even if he wasn't in the condominium?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Perhaps you remember when I informed you that a thief and a con-man would be placed near the rooms in question?"

Misora was starting to get his point, and she could feel the dubiousness quickly draining from her. "I do…"

"Good. One of them gave me an eye-witness account that told of _Ryuzaki_ leaving the room he was stationed in…more than one time, and for several minutes each time. Also…he was_ carrying_ something, though my witness was too far away to make out exactly what it was." L sounded awfully proud of himself, and Misora couldn't blame him. She was itching to grab her handcuffs and arrest the 'detective' ASAP.

"That's beyond suspicious."

"Indeed."

"Alright, then I'll speak to Blues-harp Babysplit tomorrow." She wasn't really certain that she wanted to get out of bed at all for the next forty-eight hours, but she'd give it the old college try.

"Thank you."

Misora snapped her phone closed and stretched out on her bed once more. Could Ryuzaki really be the killer? But how? He had given her so much in an attempt to help her _catch_ the killer. What kind of criminal would try to catch himself?

Try as she might, she couldn't do it. She couldn't imagine him crushing Quarter Queen's eyeballs or hurling Backyard Bottomlash's leg into a bathtub. She couldn't shake the unique impression that Ryuzaki had something of a childlike innocence, though she hadn't a clue what her brain meant by that.

Maybe L was just jumping to conclusions, so determined to solve the case that he was willing to solve it _wrong._ But no, she knew that wasn't true. She knew that he wasn't the world's best detective for no reason. So, she'd just have to do her best to collect incriminating evidence against Ryuzaki.

* * *

Misora woke to the light pound of footsteps. They sounded as if they were coming from the hallway just outside of her apartment, which would have seemed perfectly normal, had _that_ package not been outside her door.

"_I miss you." _ Flowers with a sweet little tag.

Whatever, that was normal too. Even the fact that the tag didn't say a name was fine, because there was only one person that the bouquet could have possibly been from.

"Raye…" Misora held the phone to her ear with a trace of hesitancy. She wasn't as reluctant to call her fiancé as she had been to call L the day before, but she still knew that it wasn't going to be a pleasant phone call.

"Naomi?" Raye asked, sounding a tad more surprised than he should have.

"The flowers are really sweet…Literally and figuratively, but I don't know yet, Raye…"

"Flowers?" Okay, now he sounded _way_ more surprised than he should have.

"Yeah, you just left them in front of my door…"

"Huh? Naomi, what are you talking about? Why would I give you flowers after you hung up on me?"

"Wait…these aren't from you?" Now it was her turn to be surprised. "But the tag! The tag says, 'I miss you.' So who…?"

"Maybe someone just dropped it off at the wrong room?" Raye asked, not sounding too enthralled by the conversation.

"Maybe…I'm sorry, Raye, I really though that they were from you. It's probably best that they aren't, though."

"Are you still playing that game?" he asked, ticked off.

"I'm not playing a game. I'm just not a fan of flowers and if they were your way of apologizing then I would be pretty disappointed."

"Apologizing? I have nothing to apologize for, Naomi."

"Don't waste your breath," she mumbled, still starring at the lively red roses clutched in her fist. And just like that, she found herself hanging up on the same man twice in a row. It felt rather easy the second time around.

"I miss you…" she whispered to herself. It was such a vague message that she found it a bit hard to believe that it was intended for anyone but her. There was a reason why she didn't know who had left it, just as there was a reason it had been left.

She didn't have a vase, or the will to find one. She did have a garbage can that was fairly on the large side, however, and a slight distaste for anonymous presents that could have crawled out of all corners of the underworld.

With that taken care of, she went about her daily rituals. Brushing her teeth, applying more than enough lipstick, and making her bed look far more presentable than any other piece of furniture in the apartment.

She took her purse from off of her desk and slung it over her shoulder. It seemed that she would have to venture back to Blues-harp Babysplit's condo.

* * *

"Nothing? Are you positive?"

"I am. My condo looks the same as it always have! Though the blankets were a bit more ruffled then usual when I came back, I'll admit!" How jovial. Blues-harp Babysplit was a loud man, it was a real wonder that his neighbors were able to sleep at night.

"So nothing is missing then?"

"Not a thing! Or at least nothing important!"

"No new holes in your walls?"

"Huh?" He glanced back and forth from Misora, to a wall, then back to Misora. "I'd need a magnifying glass to tell!"

"What about this painting?" Misora gestured to the large nail hanging it up, trying to get some sort of response out of the laid-back man.

"Isn't it a beauty?" he purred, smiling at the painted woman. "I got it on a vacation to London. It called my name the second I saw and I just knew that I…"

"Yeah, it's well done. But what about this nail? Is this the one you hung it up with?"

"Heck if I know! I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning! And I had breakfast a half hour ago!" He laughed and then smiled at Misora, waiting patiently for her to join in his festivity, but she didn't.

"Please try to remember," she stated, trying to swallow a mixture of desperation and anger.

Calming down a bit, Blues-harp Babysplit finally paid a careful eye to the nail. "Ah, yep! I think that it is."

Misora nodded her head, "Alright. Thank you for letting me know." Her eyes carefully danced around the room, looking for another piece of furniture or loose strand of carpet that she could question him about, but she was fresh out. "Then I will be taking my leave."

"Ok! Have a nice day!"

She left the condo with the same deep-reaching exhaustion that she had had the last time. Another dead end. Everything was coming up empty. And now, she would have to be the bearer of more bad news in another dreaded conversation with L.


End file.
